The Dog Ate My…

Nick at CrossFit Langwarrin put up a great post on Facebook last week titled ‘The dog ate my homework’.

I loved it! So much that I’m going to copy it and put it in my own words. Cheers Nick!

Why am I copying and reposting? Because this is so goddam relevant and it is the NUMBER 1 reason (excuse) people use to suspend or quit the gym and revert back to unhealthy habits:

I DON’T HAVE TIME/I’M TOO BUSY AT WORK

Nick shared a quote from Jay Shetty (who by the way, posts a tonne of quality thoughts and ideas) that said:

“If we don’t make time for our wellness, we will be forced to make time for our illness.”

Now stop and think, not about your current self, but of someone else that has done this… over the years you watched them work far too much, eat far too much crap and quit exercising long ago… and is now suffering a life threatening illness, or has passed, or almost passed as a result of their priorities.

Now look at yourself (or someone close to you if you’re currently doing a great job of looking after yourself). Are you currently working too much? Are you substituting your health for making some extra cash? Are you exhausted from work so you don’t bother exercising, instead hitting the couch, often choosing convenient crap to throw down your gob and having a few extra drinks to give you that short term relief?

You think you’re fine at the moment, you may have that ‘oh nah that won’t be me’ naivety. But it will.

What Jay’s quote is saying is… you aren’t prioritising your health because you choose to not make time for it (yeh you chose, work being busy didn’t force you to put your health back a few pegs, you just used it as an excuse to ignore it). As a result it is going to come back at you so hard that you will be forced to make time. Everything gets put on hold, your work, your partners work, that holiday you booked, all special events, all of it.

If this potentially is you this may be pretty harsh to hear it put so bluntly. But it is important. It doesn’t matter what you do for your health, but you MUST do something.

I think the most saddest, most unfortunate and most personally heartbreaking thing I experience as a gym owner, is when we have a member stop training due to ‘time’. Why? Because when I check in with them or cross paths with them down the road, 9/10 of them have experienced quite a significant drop in their health and wellness.

It fucking crushes me.

I want to know how I could have prevented that. That feeling of helplessness hurts.

At our gym we work so hard to do all that we can to help our people. We also continually research and practice different methods to improve the ways we help people keep their health at no.1. But sometimes we fail, the time excuse gets used, we’ll try to help them prioritise and make a sustainably change, but to no avail all we can then do is wish them well and hope that their health doesn’t get dropped down the list.

It doesn’t matter what you do to keep healthy: CrossFit, F45, boxing, running, walking the dog. Do the one that you enjoy and that will provide you the help that you need to build these ingrained healthy lifestyle habits.

But you MUST make time.

And this is a ‘two to tango’ thing.

You also need to adhere to being reasonably sensible with your diet. It doesn’t have to be drastic or perfect in any way. You just need to learn a bit about appropriate food intake for you relative to how much you move and make sure you’re eating quality nutrition 80% of the time.

Do these things and you won’t have to upheave your entire life when you hit 50 because you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes.

Now ask yourself the question:

Should I continue to use time as an excuse for not looking after myself, which will undoubtedly lead to major life threatening illness and a life of stress, struggle and so-so happiness?

OR

Should I exercise a bit and ensure I’m eating healthy at least 80% of the time and manage my food intake so I can carry on living happy, healthy and sickness free?

I loved this last bit Nick added to his post, “It’s like ignoring a speeding fine. I can pretend it’s not there but it’s going to cost me a fortune in the future.”

Here’s my last bit. If you don’t have your health you have nothing. No job. No holidays. No pub with your mates.

Stu. (eek, apologies for the grim ending)

PS – If you need help re-organising your life so you can attain balance and ensure your health is your priority, give us a yell. We are really good at this. We run free trials, we coach you through everything you need to know, we change lives. Join a free trial class today!

If you want an A-Z on how to step by step improve your nutrition until it becomes habitual and a non-issue, sign up to our online Nutrition Course on The Box Bag. Click here https://theboxbag.thinkific.com. The course is only $12 p/m, not contracted, plus you can reach out to us as often as you like. We also offer a free 101 module with tips on exercises, nutrition, mobility and recovery.

‘OF THE WEEK’ Raise the Bar Radio Podcast Ep – #35 – James Smith, Diren Kartal & Dave Driskell – Influencing, mythbusting & banter. Easily my most enjoyable episode to record yet. Poolside in Bali, with a Bintang, with 3 of my most followed people on socials. James is the NO BS king. He gives you the facts on nutrition and fitness and squashes every gimmick hard. Enjoy this episode to learn more about the boys story, how they grew in social media popularity, some damn good takeaway messages and heaps of laughs. Other Podcast Episode – The Mind Muscle Project – ep 215 Squat University. HEAPS of quality info on squatting. ALSO The ATP Project – Melatonin and Screen Time. Some vitally important facts that will really make you put the phone down at night time. Instagram Page – @jayshetty – Valuable Wisdom Netflix Show – Back on the Brooklyn 99. So, so funny. ALSO Mainly for kids, but funny for adults too… if you have never watched it, check out Teen Titans Go! In particular go and YouTube the episode called ‘Leg Day’